It lies on the western outskirts of the borough's main town of Basildon, adjoining the suburb of Laindon.

[1] Wayletts is also derived from the Saxon ("Weylete") and Old English ("Weg-gelaetu") both meaning a place where ways or roads meet.

Part was transferred to Brentwood, but the majority of the area, including the village itself, was absorbed into the Billericay Urban District.

[5] In November 2023, Brentwood Council gave permission to build Dunton Hills Garden Village in the parish of West Horndon to the west of Lower Dunton Road, between the A127 and the c2c trainline.

[10] Permission was given against concerns that the new homes would impact local amenities in Basildon and West Horndon.

[11][12] Friern Manor, to the north of Lower Dunton Road, was built in the 18th century.

Dunton Hall was built in the 18th century and is a Grade II listed former farmhouse.

It was destroyed by fire in the early 1960s, and the land was bought by the Ford Motor Company as part of the site of their Dunton Technical Centre.

It was rebuilt in 1873 at a cost of £950, except for a part of the north wall of the chancel which is of 16th-century brick and a 15th-century truss.

In 1843 a National School was built in Lower Dunton Road on a site granted by King's College, Cambridge.

In 1929 Dunton School was sold by Essex County Council and became a private dwelling.

After the war a new council school was built partly to accommodate the growing number of children from the new Dunton Plotlands estate.

[22][23] The Dunton Plotlands were smallholdings which became popular with East Enders moving out of London.